1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the body structure of a vehicle, such as a railroad car, a vehicle running on a guideway, an astride-type monorail car, a bus, or the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The body of a vehicle of this type is formed as a hexahedron, which consists of a floor, a roof, walls extending in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle (referred to as "sides"), and walls extending in the widthwise direction of the vehicle (referred to as "ends").
This type of vehicle body is generally produced in the following manner. First, each of the planes constituting the hexahedron is formed as a block which consists of a framework and a board forming an outer surface. Then, these six blocks are assembled and connected together by welding, by using bolts, or the like. The connecting operation is generally conducted both inside and outside the vehicle. Subsequently, various components such as pipes, wires and interior equipment (a floor sheet, interior plates forming the walls and ceiling of the body, seats, window fittings, and lighting equipment, etc.) are put in the vehicle body through doorways and window provided in the side blocks and the end blocks, and are installed inside the vehicle. An example of such a vehicle body is shown in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 55-31694 (corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 4,222,335).
In the above example, mounting various interior components is conducted in the interior of the vehicle, that is, in a rather small space, resulting in poor operational efficiency. Further, the mounting operation requires a lot of time.
In view of this problem, a system has been proposed wherein six blocks are connected together after the various interior components have been attached to the inner sides of the blocks. The assembly of the blocks is conducted by using rivets, bolts and nuts, or the like. The connection of the side blocks and the roof block is substantially effected at positions around the roof, interior and exterior of the vehicle. The connection exterior the vehicle is effected by fastening outwardly protruding end portions of the side blocks to outwardly protruding end portions of the roof block by rivets or the like. These outwardly protruding end portions are protected by covers so as to prevent water leakage. The covers are made of stainless steel or the like. These outwardly protruding end portions also serve as gutters. The connection on the inner side of these portions is also effected by rivets. The construction described above is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 48-64910.
It appears that a problem with the construction shown in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 48-64910 is that no consideration is given to exterior appearance or waterproofing.